it turns out that sandy did have an impact, but not on the headline numbers. >> if you look deeper in the report, you do see that over a million workers who normally work full time were reduced to part-time hours during the reference week because of bad weather, and over 300,000 additional workers weren't able to work at all because of bad weather. >> reporter: and because of the way the labor department calculates or figures out and decides -- defines who is working part time, full time or working at all and when, sandy's impact did not show up in the overall numbers. but one thing did. as you mentioned, 350,000 people left the work force, about the same number stayed in, and that is what put downward pressure on the unemployment rate taking it down to 7.7. heather? heather: peter barnes reporting live from the white house, thank you. so what can the federal government do to kick start the economy and get more americans back to work in the new year? that's what we need. well, economists and former speech writer to former prime ministers nixon and ford -- presidents nixon and ford, be